CONCACAF has had their fair share of star players participating in the Premier League, with goalkeepers from the United States, midfielders from Honduras, and strikers from Mexico. Here we rank the top players from the region that have had outstanding careers in the world’s top league.
10. Ricardo Gardner
The Jamaican left-back had a long and successful career at Bolton Wanderers playing in over 300 games between 1998 to 2012. In that time, he scored 11 goals and had 8 assists, but most importantly he was a reliable, and consistent player. In this span, he helped Bolton be promoted to the Premier League and was even elected as the team’s Player of the Year in the 2005-06 season.
9. Brian McBride
The Illinois-born striker had a successful start to his career with Columbus Crew of the MLS. In 2004 he joined Fulham, becoming the first top US striker to play for a Premier League club. He had a successful career there, scoring 39 goals in 153 appearances. He was elected into the Premier League Team of the Year 2002-03.
8. Raul Jimenez
The 29-year-old Mexican striker may very well be the best CONCACAF9’ to ever set foot in the Premier League. With 110 games under his belt with Wolverhampton, he has netter 47 goals while also getting 18 assists. The Club America product was at the top of his form before a terrible head injury in a game against Arsenal has sidelined him for the previous few months. If he returns to his top form, he will undoubtedly break Chicharito’s mark of most goals by a Mexican in the Premier League.
7. Brad Friedel
The Ohio-born goalkeeper is one of the most tenured CONCACAF players to play in the Premier League. From 1997 to 2015 he played for Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa, and Tottenham and taking part in 548 games between all competitions.
6. Frank Sinclair
The English-born, Jamaican defender had a lengthy and extraordinary Premier League carrier where he made over 750 appearances. In the 1990s he played in over 150 games for Chelsea, and at the turn of the millennium, he participated also in over 150 games with Leicester City. He played his whole career in England which extended over 25 years.
5. Wes Morgan
The English-born Jamaican is one of the best defenders to ever represent CONCACAF. Growing up in Nottingham, he defended Nottingham Forest for over 381 before joining Leicester City. There he became the team’s captain in the 2012-13 season and helped them get promoted into the Premier League. Ever since, he has played in 322 matches with the Foxes, winning the Premier League in surprising fashion in the 2014-15 season.
4. Clint Dempsey
Clint Dempsey: Dempsey is not only one of the best players to ever represent the Stars and Stripes, but he is also the best player to represent the United States internationally. That is a big remark to make, even with players like Christian Pulisic or Giovanni Reyna who are on the rise, but their careers are still young. Dempsey left New England Revolution in 2006 to join Fulham where he became one of the team’s stars. In 5 years, he had over 230 appearances to later be transferred to Tottenham where he was short of 50 caps. In total, the American scored 72 goals with these teams, along with 28 assists in 275 games between all competitions.
3. Javier Hernandez
Javier Hernandez: Chicharito became the most followed, exciting, and best ambassador for Mexican players in the Premier League when he joined Manchester United in 2010. The ex-Chivas of Guadalajara striker amazed all from the get-go with a face goal against Chelsea in the Community Shield. Over the next 4 years, he scored 59 goals over all competitions for the Red Devils. After playing in Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen, he returned to West Ham United and added 17 more goals to his list. In total, Chicharito scored over 120 goals in Europe, 76 of them with Premier League Clubs in 220 appearances.
2. Tim Howard
Tim Howard is the all-time best goalkeeper in US Soccer history, and potentially top 3 ever in CONCACAF. In 2003 he was signed to Manchester United where he played in 77 games until 2006 when he was transferred to Everton. There, he became a team legend, playing in 413 games over the next 10 years and earning over 100 clean sheets.
1. Dwight Yorke
Dwight Yorke is the top CONCACAF player to ever set foot in the Premier League. The Trinidad & Tobago was a start in England before Chicharito, Clint Dempsey, or Raul Jimenez ever set foot. The talented striker played for Aston Villa, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Sunderland, and Birmingham scoring an incredible 158 goals. It will be difficult for another player to top this Premier League career, especially when considering he played the greater part of his career there.
Honorable Mentions: Wilson Palacios, Bryan Ruiz, Kasey Keller, Shaka Hislop, Christian Pulisic, Carlos Bocanegra, Shaun Goater, Paulo Wanchope
